Family Research Council to Release Fourth Annual 'Index of Family Belonging and Rejection'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Wednesday, February 12, Family Research Council (FRC) will host a webcast lecture at noon Eastern that will feature the release of the fourth annual Index of Family Belonging and Rejection. The index charts the present intactness of the family in the U.S. by examining the proportion of fifteen- to seventeen-year-olds who grew up in an intact, married family.

Patrick Fagan, Senior Fellow and Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at FRC, will speak at this live lunchtime lecture, entitled "The Legacy of Love."

A native of Ireland, Fagan earned his Bachelor of Social Science degree with a double major in sociology and social administration, and a professional graduate degree in psychology (Dip. Psych.) as well as a Ph.D. from University College Dublin.

Fagan started his career as a grade school teacher in Cork, Ireland, then returned to college to become a psychologist, going to Canada to practice then to Washington, D.C. to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology. In 1984, Fagan moved from the clinical world into the public policy arena, to work on family issues at the Free Congress Foundation. After that he worked for Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, then was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Family and Community Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by President George H.W. Bush, before spending the next thirteen years at the Heritage Foundation where he was a senior fellow.

Of the index's release, Fagan said:

"America is as strong as its lasting marriages and as weak as its broken ones. St. Valentine had the right formula: Grow the young intact married family that worships God on the Sabbath. When Valentine speaks, does America listen?"

A complimentary lunch will be served at FRC's Washington, D.C. location for in-person attendees.